For Disabled People, the Elderly and their Carers in the UK

Homeopathy - Information and Guide

Homeopathic medicine is a type of complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM).
It involves treating people with highly diluted substances (usually in
tablet form) to
hopefully induce the body to naturally heal itself. Homeopathic medicines
are called
remedies by homeopaths. It is avaiable on the NHS.

Introduction

Homeopathy is a type of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
CAMs are treatments that are not based on conventional scientific theories.
Other CAMS include:

acupuncture – needles are placed in certain parts of
the body

chiropractic – physical manipulation of the spine and
joints is used to try to relieve symptoms

faith healing

The principles of homeopathy

Homeopathy was devised by a German doctor called Samuel Hahnemann
during the 1790s. Hahnemann had a series of ideas that evolved into
the principles of homeopathy.

Like cures like

The first idea was that a substance that would cause symptoms in a
healthy person can be used to cure the same symptoms in someone who
is ill. For example, if somebody has insomnia, they can be treated with
a homeopathic remedy that contains extracts of coffee.

Homeopaths refer to this as the principle of ‘like cures like’.

Potentisation

Hahnemann’s second idea is that the more you dilute a substance,
the more you increase its power to treat symptoms that it would otherwise
cause.

Homeopaths refer to this as the principle of ‘potentisation’.

Succession and proving

Hahnemann stated that to be effective, the process of dilution had
to be performed in a very specific manner.

For example, a substance such as the belladonna herb should be diluted
in water or alcohol in a glass. The vessel is then shaken firmly 10
times.

Homeopaths believe that by shaking the vessel you can ‘imprint
the healing energy of the medicinal substance throughout the body of
water’.

The process of dilution and shaking is then repeated multiple times.
Some homeopathic remedies are diluted by one drop in 100, and 30 times
over (a 30C dilution). This process is known as succussion.

During the succussion process, a group of volunteers will take six
doses of the remedy at different dilutions over the course of two days.
They will record any mental or physical symptoms in a diary. Each person’s
diary is then collated into a list of symptoms called a repertory. This
process is known as ‘proving’.

Therefore, a homeopath will try to match your symptom to one that
is caused by a remedy during the proving process.

What homeopathy is used for

Homeopaths believe that homeopathy can help with any condition that
the body has the potential to self-repair. They suggest that homeopathy
can be used to treat a wide range of acute and chronic medical conditions.

However, homeopaths say that homeopathy should not be used instead
of conventional medical treatment, but alongside it.

Homeopaths do not treat serious problems, such as broken limbs, damaged
joints or severe physical injury.

Serious, acute (severe), or potentially chronic (long-term), life-threatening
conditions should not be treated with homeopathy. Examples of these
sorts of conditions include:

heart attack

stroke

diabetic coma

HIV

cancer

malaria

epileptic seizure

asthma attack

Homeopathic remedies are also not recommended as an alternative to
vaccination, such as the mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Issues surrounding homeopathy

The dilution problem

Many critics of homeopathy have highlighted the fact that in most
homeopathic remedies the original substance is diluted so much that
none of its molecules are left in the remedy.

Homeopaths argue that the critics are missing the point of the succussion
process. None of the original substance needs to remain because the
succussion process somehow imprints a ‘memory’ of the substance
into the water.

The claim that water has a memory is a controversial one, and it is
rejected by most mainstream scientists. However, supporters of homeopathy
have pointed out that an unusual effect which occurs at the sub-atomic
level could explain how water could have a memory (sub-atomic is a term
used to describe the smallest particles found in the universe, such
as electrons and photons).

Quantum entanglement

If you split a pair of sub-atomic particles, they will both fly off
into separate directions. If you then interact with one of the particles
in order to change how it moves (known as its quantum spin), the second
particle will also change in the same way, even if both particles are
millions of miles apart.

This is known as quantum entanglement, which the famous scientist
Albert Einstein described as ‘spooky action at a distance’.

Some supporters of homeopathy have argued that a similar process takes
place during succession. That is, sub-atomic particles inside the substance
become entangled with sub-atomic particles in the water, and this gives
water its memory.

However, there is currently no proof that quantum entanglement is
involved in homeopathy.

Lack of clinical evidence

The second issue raised by many critics of homeopathy is
the lack of conclusive clinical evidence from medical trials to show
that homeopathy is effective.

For example, a study published in The Lancet in 2005 looked
at more than 100 clinical trials and found no evidence that homeopathy
worked any better than a placebo.

A placebo is the unusual psychological effect that sometimes occurs
when a person is given a ‘dummy’ medication, such as a sugar
pill. They feel better after taking the pill because they think that
they are being given real medication.

Supporters of homeopathy have argued that most medical trials are
run in a way that makes them inherently at odds with the way homeopathy
works.

How medical trials work

In order to better understand this argument, it is useful to know
how medical trials work. Most medical trials are what are known as double-blind
randomised controls trials (RCTs).

In simple terms, if you wanted to test a new medication for migraines,
you would sign up 200 people: 100 people would get an existing medication
and the other 100 would get the new medication.

Neither those taking part in the trial, nor the researchers who are
running the trial, would know who was getting the old medication or
who was getting the new medication until after the trial had finished.
This is known as ‘double-blinding’, and it is done to
reduce the risk of bias.

For example, if the person running the trial knew who was being
given which type of medication, they could deliberately choose people
with less severe symptoms to receive the new medication as they are
more likely to report that the medication is effective.

After the test groups have received their medication, the researchers
use a standardised scale to record the pattern of everyone’s symptoms.
For example, a scoring system could be set up where people get a point
for every day that they do not have a migraine.

At the end of the trial, the scores are added up to determine which
medication worked best.

To summarise, medical trials are:

randomised – nobody knows who is getting what treatment
until the trial has finished

standardised – everyone receives a similar sort of treatment
and their symptoms are recorded in the same way.

Homeopaths argue that the principles of standardisation and randomisation
go against the principles of homeopathy as each patient requires an
individual approach that has been specifically designed for their individual
circumstances.

Availability of Homeopathy

Homeopathy on the NHS

Despite the lack of clinical evidence, homeopathy
remains a popular complementary therapy and it is available on the NHS.
In the UK, there are several NHS homeopathic hospitals. Some GP surgeries
also offer homeopathic treatment. Homeopathy is also practised privately.

There are several associations for practitioners
of homeopathy. They have a range of opinions on the integration of homeopathy
with orthodox medicine.

Unlike doctors, nurses and other conventional healthcare
professionals, homeopaths do not have to be registered with a regulatory
body. The ‘Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council’ is
a voluntary organisation that practitioners can register with, but they
do not have to.

More Information

The Society of Homeopaths

A membership organisation governed
by a board of directors, who are homeopaths elected by members (as well
as two non-homeopath experts).
The day to day work of the Society is undertaken by a team of staff
who are mostly office based and homeopath consultants who mostly work
from home and offer expertise in their fields, often from previous careers